


Underneath the Christmas Lights

by Saltedkiss



Series: Merthur Week 2020 [6]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Merry Christmas, and I am not even sorry, cat dad, domestic husbands, fluff and kittens, i don't even know what happened, it turned into cuddles and fireplaces and cats, the prompt said humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28381200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saltedkiss/pseuds/Saltedkiss
Summary: Arthur stared at the thing on his lap. It was all skin and wrinkles and giant blue eyes that were far too large for its tiny head.“Merlin,” Arthur said in a flat voice, “what is that?”“It’s a cat! Our cat!” Merlin beamed.“That’s not a cat. It’s a rat."Or: Merlin has a surprise for Arthur. His reaction isn't quite what Merlin had hoped for.Day 6: “Can I uncover my eyes yet?” “No stop being impatient" + Humour
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066913
Comments: 12
Kudos: 82
Collections: Merthur Week 2020





	Underneath the Christmas Lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wtfisgoingonanymore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wtfisgoingonanymore/gifts).



“Can I uncover my eyes yet?” Arthur leaned back against Merlin’s chest. Even though he quite liked the feeling of his lover’s strong arms around him, he was sure the surprise the other man had waiting for him would be even better, if the twinkle in Merlin’s eyes before he'd covered Arthur's was anything to go by.

“No.” Merlin pressed a kiss in Arthur’s neck. 

“Come on.”

“Stop being impatient.” Arthur could feel Merlin’s chuckle resonate through him where their bodies touched.

“I’m not impatient.” 

“Liar.” 

“Oh whatever. Can I uncover my eyes now?” 

Merlin laughed and guided Arthur to the sofa in the middle of their living room. After warning Arthur not to open his eyes, he left the room to go fetch whatever surprise he had for Arthur.

Suddenly Arthur worried he’d forgotten an anniversary, even though he was pretty confident he hadn’t. They’d celebrated their two-year anniversary a month ago. He smiled fondly at the memory. Arthur had cooked. Merlin had been dessert. Arthur was quite sure Merlin’s surprise didn’t have anything to do with a special occasion of any kind. And Christmas wasn’t for another two weeks. Besides, Arthur doubted Merlin would want to give him his gift early. Over the years they’d started their own holiday tradition. Each year, they put on silly Christmas jumpers and spent the morning in front of the fireplace in their living room, where they sat by an enormous Christmas tree, decorated with hundreds of polaroid pictures they’d taken of their friends and family over the years. Arthur didn’t think Merlin would break that tradition any time soon. 

When Merlin walked back in, Arthur heard the man’s pace had slowed, as if he was carrying something heavy. Or fragile. 

Merlin sat down next to Arthur, who heard some sort of... scraping? Yes, that was definitely it. Scratches on cardboard. He recognised the distinct sound of someone opening a cardboard box, and then he felt Merlin reach for whatever was in the box, only to put the box’ contents on Arthur’s lap.

It was tiny and weighed all but nothing. 

And it _moved_.

Arthur’s eyes flew open. He stared at the thing on his lap. It was all skin and wrinkles and giant blue eyes that were far too large for its tiny head. 

“Merlin,” Arthur said in a flat voice, “what is  _that_?” 

“It’s a cat! Our cat!” Merlin beamed.

“That’s not a cat. It’s a rat.”

The thing mewled softly, as if it was offended by Arthur’s behaviour. Merlin huffed. 

“It’s not a rat. They’re called sphynx cats and they’re adorable.”

“They look like an old man’s wrinkled butt.”

“See now that’s an image I’d rather you hadn’t placed in my head.”

“Speaking of unwanted things. What is this _thing_ doing in my lap?” 

Merlin huffed again and placed a hand on the thing, as if to shield it from Arthur. Oh please. 

“She’s not a _thing_ ,” Merlin grunted, “she’s a cat.” 

“Rat.”

“Dollop head.”

Merlin grabbed the bundle of skin in his arms and left for their bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Arthur heard the lock click and decided to waited it out. Surely Merlin would come to his senses soon. He had to. There was no way the man was serious about bringing this … cat, if he really had to call it that, into their home. 

So Arthur waited. And waited. An hour passed. Two. When Merlin finally did come out, he was carrying a pillow case that had a big yellow stain on it. Great accessory to go with his flustered cheeks.

“It peed on our bed,” Arthur said, stating the obvious.

_“It_ is a she. And I’m naming her Aithusa.” 

Great. So there definitely was no getting Merlin to bring the... cat back to wherever the hell it had come from. Arthur sighed and accepted his faith, although he refused to go down without a fight. 

If Merlin wanted to have a cat, he could take care of it, too. Arthur was not touching any litter boxes. Or smelly jelly cat food. Or hair balls. Athough, he figured the complete lack of fur on this tiny monster meant there probably wouldn't be any of those.

_Two_ _weeks later_

“Merry Christmas to you, too,” Arthur sighed after Merlin pulled back from what had been the kind of lazy make out session they both adored. 

Merlin smiled and looked around the room. He marvelled at the twinkling lights in their tree, the crackling of burning wood that came from the fireplace. It was perfect. And yet all of it paled in comparison to the man in his arms. It was perfect. All of it. Idyllic and romantic and– the loud growling sound that came from Merlin’s stomach broke the spell. 

"It’s almost noon,” Merlin said. “We haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Then go make us something to eat.”

“Not happening, it's your turn."

“I can't. She's sleeping. If I move now, I'll wake her."

Merlin smiled at the man he loved and the kitten who’d bundled up on her favourite parent’s lap.

The two of them had become inseparable. Aithusa was absolutely insufferable around the time Arthur normally came home from work, with all her mewling and scratching at the door. And every single day, Arthur scooped her up in his arms the moment he entered their apartment before coming to find Merlin and tell him about the day he’d had. 

Arthur’s pockets were always filled with cat treats. And Merlin was positive Arthur’s phone now held over a hundred pictures of the three of them together. 

One night, Merlin had even heard Arthur talking to their kitten in a high-pitched voice after he’d left the room. Arthur had denied it of course, but the rosy tint of his cheeks had told Merlin everything he needed to know. 

Merlin kissed Arthur’s temple and got up to make them something to eat. He chuckled as he looked at the blond man and his tiny kitten, who looked even smaller wearing the “Kitty’s First Christmas”-jumper Arthur had bought for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! And to all the cat owners out there, I hope the Christmas bauble casualties were limited this year! 
> 
> Thank you so much for being here and taking the time to read my work. I hope you enjoyed it! I definitely enjoyed writing this one! 
> 
> As always: English isn't my first language and I don't have a beta, so feel free to let me know if there's anything that needs fixing.


End file.
